24 weeks!

It's been a busy month--I can't believe I haven't posted since the 1st! Things have been going well with baby girl, and today we've reached our 24 week milestone! I would like it very much for baby girl to stay inside and incubate for another good 16weeks (well, 15 would be ok too), but it's nice that we've reached the timeframe of viability.

I had the most vivid dream about our baby last night. I dreamed that she was born, and weighed 1.5 lbs (which is about how much she weighs right now), and I was able to take her home (unlike in reality where a 1.5 lb babe would stay in nicu for awhile!). I struggled in this dream to find the right sling, or baby carrying device for her. She was so tiny and I just couldn't get anything to work right for her. We tried all these differnt types of slings, and she just was too tiny for them, and I was afraid she'd fall out! Different friends would stop and try to help me with her, and I just remember feeling like I had 2 left hands when I was holding her. At work (in the real world) I hold babies a lot, and am very comforable with it, and so I was surprised in this dream that I felt so out of sorts!
Also in this dream, Todd and I were taking her to the doctor for her day 2 check up, and they asked me what her name was. I stopped, and realized that we hadn't named her yet! So the rest of the dream was me and Todd talking about names, and trying to decide if our current lead name is the name we really want to use. "Do we really like this name enough? Is this really what we're going to name her??" By the time I woke up, we still hadn't decided on the name, but I think we were leaning towards our current favorite (and yes, I'm going to keep that one quiet!). :)

Funny stuff, dreams are. A bit of my own anxiety coming out perhaps?

She's been a very active girl the past couple weeks. I'm feeling her all the time now, and Todd's felt her a couple times too. It's such a bizarre, fun feeling!

We've started to get some hand-me-down clothes from family & friends, which is so nice. It's been fun to get them washed, and sorted, and maybe this week I'll start to put them in her dresser. Sometimes it's hard to believe that this is really happening...

This month I've also had some reminders of IF, and of all the pain that brings. We've been to a couple functions where there were couples that I know are struggling with IF, and my heart just aches for them. I feel bad for my bump, because I know it hurts to see it, and I can instantly be brought to that back to that same place in my mind. I'm glad that we've been open with our struggle becuase it's allowed others to be open with theirs, and for that, I'm so grateful. I also feel like we've been able to open others' eyes to IF, and I'm glad for that. At work, I'm trying to get IF coverage included in our healthcare plan, and I had 55 other staff members from my floor sign a letter of support for this coverage! My benefits manager was really supportive, and has asked our insurance folks for a quote to add this coverage for 2009. I'll be super excited if it really happens!

So there you go! A month's worth of updates all in one day! We've got an OB appt a week from Tuesday, and I'll be doing the yummy glucose tolerance test. Oh boy. Can't wait for that!

Thanks for checking in. Hope you all are doing well too!

Love,
Julie & baby girl

Happy Updates

Hi all,

Thought I'd pop in and give ya'all a little update as to what's going on with the 3 of us these days.

Baby girl has been moving like crazy, and I'm finally feeling her more regularly! It's been so much fun to feel her move & kick! She hasn't been strong enough for Todd to feel her yet, but I hope that's coming soon so that he can feel how awesome it is too!

My belly is really looking pregnant these days. You can't tell so much in my scrubs at work, but when I'm in regular clothes it's definately out there! It's fun to look pregnant now. Everyone has been so great, so excited for us, and I'm just so happy that all of you are able to join us in this part of our journey. I have to admit that it's much more enjoyable than the first part (the IF part) was!

Todd's been busy getting the crib and other furniture ready for the nursery. It's so strange to see a crib in our old office! I love it!

Today is our 4th year anniversary, and we're off to dinner. It's been a wonderful 4 years, with a wonderful man, and I can't wait to bring our daughter into our lives!

Thanks for checking in on us,
Love you all,
Julie

And for all of you belly watchers...here it is: